Volume One, Chapter 15: Your Ex-Girlfriend?

At noon, I arranged to have lunch with Wang Ruoxi. When she arrived, her eyes were swollen, and she looked somewhat haggard.

“Xiao Yu, I’m so sad. He doesn’t remember me and doesn’t want me anymore,” the young girl said, hugging me, her voice filled with grievance.

“Are you going to give up then?”

Hearing the word ‘give up,’ she shook her head. “I don’t want to give up. He will definitely remember me.”

I gently stroked her head. “If you won’t give up, then there’s no need to be sad now. There’s still a chance, isn’t there?”

Wang Ruoxi seemed thoughtful, as if there was some truth in what I said.

I smiled, “Stop overthinking. Let’s eat first!”

Halfway through the meal, Wang Ruoxi suddenly froze, staring intently behind me.

I turned around in confusion and saw Fu Yuncheng standing with two foreigners; the three of them were about to go upstairs.

Fu Yuncheng noticed our gaze and glanced over briefly before heading upstairs.

Wang Ruoxi deflated like a burst balloon. Just when she had finally started to let go a little, her face drooped again.

I comforted her with a few words, and she slowly brightened up, even managing a faint smile as she left.

I didn’t bluntly tell her that Fu Yuncheng was not right for her or advise her to give up. Some things can only be understood after we’ve tried.

Back at the company, as the elevator doors opened, a waft of perfume drifted in.

I was puzzled—did Fu Yunshen bring a female colleague up today?

Pushing open the office door, I saw a woman sitting in Fu Yunshen’s seat.

She wore heavy makeup and, upon noticing my work badge hanging from my neck, asked, “Are you here for Yunshen?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Upon hearing that, the woman’s eyes scrutinized me with hostile intent. “Then you’d better leave quickly. Yunshen doesn’t like employees coming upstairs without being summoned.”

I answered directly, “Sorry, I’m Mr. Fu’s assistant. My desk is just across from yours.”

The woman frowned and stared, but I went straight to my desk, sat down, and began reviewing the morning’s reports.

Her scrutinizing gaze continued, but I ignored it.

As Fu Yunshen entered the office, the woman stood up eagerly and ran to him, wrapping her arms affectionately around his neck.

“Yunshen, I’m back!” she said in a soft, sweet voice, very different from her earlier coldness.

“Song Ning? When did you return?” Fu Yunshen asked.

“This morning, just got off the plane and came to find you,” Song Ning replied happily, expecting him to be as excited as she was. But his eyes remained calm and unruffled.

I quietly observed their interaction, when suddenly my nose twitched, and I sneezed.

Looking up, Fu Yunshen was already in front of me. He touched my forehead gently. “I’ll have Fang Yanzhou bring you some medicine. You should take it. You’re an adult; you should dress warmer when you go out.”

I nodded listlessly. “Got it.”

Song Ning noticed Fu Yunshen’s concern for another woman, while his reaction to her return was so indifferent. Her gaze toward me sharpened.

“Yunshen, who is she?”

Without hesitation, Fu Yunshen said, “My girlfriend.”

At that moment, he draped the coat hanging on his chair over my shoulders.

Song Ning was momentarily stunned, concealing a storm behind her eyes as she smiled at me. “Hello, I’m Song Ning.”

Having watched too many melodramas, I could see through her falsehood immediately. I smiled and said, “Hello, I’m Lu Xiaoyu.”

Song Ning continued, “Yunshen, I just came back to the country and wanted to invite you and your girlfriend to dinner. Would that be convenient?”

“No.”

Fu Yunshen refused outright, not even explaining why.

Song Ning’s face fell slightly. “Alright then, next time. I’ll leave now.”

After she left, I gazed at Fu Yunshen. “Your ex?”

He looked up and said, “No, just a college classmate.”

“Oh.” Though he said that, I sensed it wasn’t so simple. Song Ning clearly had a complicated past with him.

Fu Yunshen didn’t give me much work today, just a few small tasks that I finished quickly. As I was about to watch a short drama, my stomach suddenly churned violently, and I rushed to the restroom.

After vomiting some food residue, I felt a bit better.

Looking at my pale face in the mirror, I recalled what the doctor had told me before.

“Late-stage stomach cancer can present some serious symptoms. If they appear, come back for another check promptly.”

In the restroom, I accidentally bumped into Fu Yunshen.

He leaned against the wall, looking at me with concern. “I saw you weren’t feeling well, so I followed you.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine. I just ate too much with Ruoxi at lunch and felt a bit nauseous.”

“I’ll have Fang Yanzhou send you home to rest.”

I didn’t refuse. After Fang Yanzhou took me home, I took a taxi to the hospital.

A few days ago, my stomach had only occasional cramps, but recently I kept vomiting like just now.

After a thorough examination, the doctor’s brows furrowed deeply. “With your condition, you might not live beyond two months.”

Leaving the hospital, I wandered aimlessly down the street. A black car pulled up beside me, the door opened, and Fu Yuncheng stepped out.

“Miss Lu, what a coincidence!”

“Not really.”

I had no energy to deal with Fu Yuncheng. I just wanted to walk quietly alone.

Seeing me ignore him, Fu Yuncheng smiled. “Have you thought about what I said before?”

“Fu Yuncheng, you don’t really like me. You just want to steal me because I’m Fu Yunshen’s girlfriend now.”

I expected him to be angry or displeased, but he merely scoffed. “Miss Lu, you have such a big grudge against me? I suppose my brother told you a lot of bad things about me!”

I frowned. “It wasn’t him. I figured it out myself. You spoke ill of Fu Yunshen the first time we met, yet you are his elder brother. To say such things about your own brother, you don’t deserve to be an elder brother.”

With every word I spoke, Fu Yuncheng’s face darkened, his eyes chilling to the bone. He stared at me, “Looks like he kept a lot from you! You’re not important to him at all!”

Fu Yuncheng turned and walked away. I realized that my words had truly angered him, but I didn’t understand why he didn’t lose his temper and instead said that last remark.

Back home, I went to my room and called my uncle.

Last time I visited, I gave him some money and asked him to help build a fence around the house. The house sits at the village entrance on a slope, and when the wind blows, the yard gets bitterly cold and painful to the head. A fence would help block the wind.

My uncle has always been kind to me since childhood. If it weren’t for my aunt insisting on splitting the family and moving out, my uncle’s family would still be living with my grandparents.

The call connected immediately.

He seemed to be working in the fields. “Xiaoyu.”

I got straight to the point. “Uncle, how’s the fence construction I mentioned last time?”

“I’ve arranged it. The builder had some matters to attend to these days but will start next Monday.”

“Good, thank you, Uncle.”

I heard my aunt’s voice nearby, “That orphan calling you again...”

My aunt’s words were always harsh, but before she finished, my uncle said, “Xiaoyu, why be polite with your uncle? I’m busy now, I’ll hang up first.”

The call ended. I knew my uncle was trying to shield me from my aunt’s harsh words.

Though I didn’t like my aunt, she worked in the fields with my uncle and took good care of the children at home. No matter what she said, I still gave her some respect.